The Coming Depression

The are some troubling indications that the US is heading to some serious financial problems. Unfortunately, there is too much partisanship by economists to understand what we should be doing. Paul Krugman, as would be expected, blames Republicans.

http://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2011/06/commodity-prices-and-the-mistake-of-1937-would-modern-economists-make-the-same-mistake.html

www.nytimes.com/2011/06/03/opinion/03krugman.html?_r=1

The Troubling Partisanship by Environmental Groups

One of the biggest mistakes that the environmental movement has made is they have gotten in bed with the Democratic Party and alienated many Republicans who would normally be natural supports. After all, the modern environmental movement was arguably started by a Republican, Theodore Roosevelt. One of the more jarring examples of this was when the Natural Resources Defense Fund sent out a fundraising letter warning of the evils of Sarah Palin. At the time, Sarah Palin was a private citizen and not running for anything while the worst US environmental disaster, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, with drilling authorized by the Obama administration, was in the middle of it's destructive rampage.

Palin was also blasted by the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund in 2008 for authorizing the shooting of wolves from helicopters. She was labeled as sadistic and brutal. And that someone like that did not deserve to be President

Odd, but the federal government is now authorizing all kinds of methods for killing feral hogs in San Diego county, including hunting by helicopter.

http://hotair.com/archives/2011/06/02/obama-administration-suddenly-likes-palin-wildlife-management-strategy/

Freedom of Association

Who knew that there was something called "Gay Softball World Series" and who know that you could be disqualified if you are not gay enough?

Three people sued because they were not allowed to participate in the Gay Softball World Series apparently because they were bi-sexual.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2015209413_gaysoftball02m.html

This has a number of interesting possibilities. Apparently organizations can discriminate and select who can join. At least in some cases.

sf

Corruption at International Agencies

First we heard about some socialist official at the International Monetary Fund staying at $3,000 per night hotel rooms and assuming that assaulting housekeeping is a normal, natural benefit of his station in life. And now we hear about FIFA, the international soccer association, may have awarded a future World Cup to Qatar because of bribery.

http://chicagoboyz.net/archives/22446.html

Australia is now asking FIFA for $46 million back from FIFA to cover the costs of their bid for the World Cup. If the bidding process was dishonest, obviously Australia should get a refund.

Of course, this is nothing new. The Salt Lake City Winter Olympic bid was tainted by similar allegations.

There seems to be no one monitoring these large international organizations.

Obama and Hu

The observation was made that the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize winner hosted a dinner for the person who put the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner in jail. And the media doesn't seem to appreciate the irony.



Actually, maybe there is no irony here. The 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Liu, published a 2004 article in support of Bush's war on Iraq, titled "Victory to the Anglo-American Freedom Alliance", in which he praised the U.S. led post-cold-war wars as "best examples of how war should be conducted in a modern civilization." and predicted "a free, democratic and peaceful Iraq will emerge." During the 2004 US presidential election, Liu again praised Bush for his war effort against Iraq and condemned Democratic party candidate John Kerry for not sufficiently supporting the US's wars. Meanwhile, he commented on Islamism that, "a culture and (religious) system that produced this kind of threat (Islamic fundamentalism), must be exteremely intolerant and blood-thirsty.” On Israel, he said "without America’s protection, the long persecuted Jews who faced extermination during WWII, probably would again be drowned by the Islamic world's hatred.
(from Wikipedia)

So, both Obama and Hu dislike Bush, apparently.

As for me, I can't figure out how someone who increased US death toll in Iraq and Afghanistan to a higher level than Bush in his last year got a Peace Prize anyway.